FIGHT BACK AGAINST FRAUD AND IDENTITY THEFT

Scammers are using advanced technology as well as classic methods to swindle their victims. Stay a step ahead with these nine moves.

- LISA GERSTNER AND EMMA PATCH

Clamping down on fraud and identity theft is a little like playing a game of Whac-A-Mole: As soon as authorities and security experts act to knock down one type of problem, another pops up somewhere else because scammers' strategies are constantly evolving. About four in 10 consumers said that their personal information had been stolen, compromised or misused in the past year, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center's 2022 Consumer Impact Report.

"Social engineering"-which refers to scammers manipulating people into handing over personal information by using calls, text messages, e-mails and other means-is driving much of this activity, says Eva Velasquez, president and CEO of the ITRC. In particular, scam text messages are on the rise. There were more than 225 billion automated "robotext" messages sent to Americans last year, a 157% increase from 2021, according to a report from Robokiller, an app that blocks scam text messages and calls. And complaints of text message scams rose by 500% between 2015 and 2022, according to the Federal Communications Commission.

When it comes to financial losses, the news is a mixed bag. Identity fraud losses amounted to $20 billion in 2022, down 15% from 2021, according to the 2023 Identity Fraud Study from Javelin Strategy & Research. But the number of U.S. adult victims of identity fraud in 2022—15.4 million— remained nearly identical to that of the previous year. And while victims are losing less money overall—in general, they report losses of less than $500— the group of people losing $10,000 or more is growing, according to the ITRC report. The reason is largely that scams have become more targeted and sophisticated, says Velasquez.